Peter Berg Developing ‘The Rundown 2′ for Dwayne Johnson

More than a decade has passed since Dwayne Johnson established himself as a big-screen leading man in The Scorpion King, and the wrestler-turned-actor has become one of the biggest action stars in the world and a force to be reckoned with at the box office.

As of late, he has gained a reputation for lending his onscreen charisma and marquee name to a number of film franchises. In the past couple of years, he joined the cast of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Fast Five (and its sequels) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, despite not appearing in any of their predecessors. However, since beginning his film career, Johnson has yet to appear in a sequel to his own franchise – that is, one that he started in the first place. As it turns out, they may be changing soon.

According to Collider, director Peter Berg – whose most recent theatrical release was last summer’s Battleship – is developing a sequel to the 2003 adventure comedy The Rundown. That film stars Johnson as a “retrieval expert” named Beck who is sent on a mission to Brazil to bring his boss’s son (Seann William Scott) back to the U.S. Here’s what Berg had to say about the follow-up:

“I really want to do it. I’ve talked to Dwayne. I have an actor in mind that I can’t say that I want to work with Dwayne on it, and we want to do it.”

While the project is clearly in its early stages, Berg seems genuinely committed to making the film happen and is reportedly meeting with writers about it. However, the fact that he has an idea for an actor he’d like to star alongside Johnson indicates that Scott probably won’t be reprising his role. His chemistry with Johnson was a key ingredient of what made the first film memorable, but it makes far more sense from a narrative standpoint to take the character of Beck in a fresh direction.

Upon its initial release, The Rundown was a box office disappointment, earning only $48 million domestically against an $85 million production budget. However, it has since gained a respectable following and is perhaps the first film to balance Johnson’s obvious action chops and underrated comedic timing in equal measure. After all, this is the film in which Arnold Schwarzenegger makes an uncredited appearance in a brief passing-of-the-action-star-torch moment with Johnson.

The character of Beck could evolve into one of Johnson’s signature roles if a sequel is greenlit, but even if Berg and Johnson could get their schedules in order and make the film happen, the question of when exactly they would be able to do so remains. In addition to his work on Fast & Furious 7 (the fate of which is still unknown, following Paul Walker’s tragic passing), Johnson is due to star in a number of upcoming films, including Hercules and San Andreas 3D. Meanwhile, Berg is committed to directing the pilot of HBO’s The Leftovers and will soon reunite with his Lone Survivor star Mark Wahlberg for American Desperado. So while some fans may be eager to see The Rundown 2 hit theaters sooner rather than later, it’s still too soon to tell if the film will be able to gain the traction necessary to make it into production.

Are you excited at the the idea of a sequel to The Rundown, and who would you like to see star with Johnson? Let us know in the comments section.

Stay tuned to Screen Rant for updates on The Rundown 2 as this story develops.